Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Portillo’s Inc. (NASDAQ:PTLO) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.0227.

Several analysts recently commented on PTLO shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Portillo’s in a report on Monday, March 9th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered Portillo’s from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Portillo’s from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim cut shares of Portillo’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Portillo’s in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Portillo’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ PTLO traded up $0.17 on Tuesday, reaching $4.89. 109,190 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,771,166. The firm has a market cap of $371.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $4.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.07. Portillo’s has a fifty-two week low of $3.78 and a fifty-two week high of $12.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.26.

Portillo’s (NASDAQ:PTLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.01 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $182.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $183.26 million. Portillo’s had a net margin of 2.12% and a return on equity of 3.17%. Portillo’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Portillo’s will post 0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Portillo’s news, Director Eugene I. Lee, Jr. purchased 70,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.28 per share, for a total transaction of $300,306.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 486,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,081,856.20. This trade represents a 16.86% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PTLO. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Portillo’s during the fourth quarter worth $10,350,000. Engaged Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Portillo’s by 124.3% during the 1st quarter. Engaged Capital LLC now owns 3,442,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,908,000 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Portillo’s by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 5,777,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,428,000 after buying an additional 830,460 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Portillo’s by 133.5% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,204,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,470,000 after buying an additional 688,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Portillo’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,609,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.34% of the company’s stock.

Portillo’s Company Profile

Portillo’s, Inc operates a fast?casual restaurant chain best known for its Chicago?style menu, featuring Italian beef sandwiches, Chicago?style hot dogs, char?grilled burgers, salads, crinkle?cut fries and hand?spun milkshakes. In addition to its signature sandwiches and dogs, the company offers a selection of desserts—including its famous chocolate cake and frozen custard—as well as catering services designed to bring its Midwestern flavors to corporate and social events.

The company was founded in 1963 by Dick Portillo, who opened the first Portillo’s in Villa Park, Illinois.